Menagerie
by Ohmega- ThEND
Summary: The league is turned into animals by Grodd & Lex Luthor! Please read for a brief summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

*A/N: So basically what I was going for was that the league (I was originally going to include J'onn and Hawkgirl, but that would be too many characters to keep track of, so I decided to stick to the main 5) are captured by Gorilla Grodd and Lex Luthor in a plan to destroy them. Part of the plan involves neutralizing their powers and turned into animals: Superman- a white lion, Batman- a wolf, Wonder Woman- a leopard, Flash- a fox, and Green Lantern- an eagle. After escaping their confinement, they manage to make it back to metropolis only to find that they are still animals. Now their only chance of ending this is to make it to the watch tower and hope that one of their fellow Leaguers can turn them back so that they can take out their arch enemies. **Note**: Again, this is not a full fic nor is it a oneshot, this is merely the result of zoning out during a lit class ;). However, if you like what you've read as much as I enjoyed writing it, and leave reviews asking me to continue, then I will make it an actual fic! So please go ahead and read, and don't forget to review when you're done! If you like what you see, then feel free to leave a comment letting me know you want MOAR! Happy reading!

* * *

Again, another powerful howl rang through the city streets, louder and more robust than the first. Immediately, Superman and Flash froze and listened to the call. At first they were just as startled as the citizens who fled through the streets; but after allowing the call to sink in, Wally was struck by realization and knew what had to be done. "Batman!" he shouted as he pushed up against Superman's shoulder.

"What?"

"That's gotta be Batman! He must be nearby," Flash responded as he stumbled into an awkward gallop. "Come on, let's hope he's got some kind of plan to get us out of this mess." He turned around to see if Green Lantern and Superman were following. "Don't know about you guys- ouch!" he grumbled as he turned around and accidently stepped on his tail again. "But this thing has got to go!" he chuckled as the bushy red plume of his tail waved in his face.

"I know what you mean," Superman replied as he and Green Lantern followed behind.

* * *

Back in the alleyway, Bruce paced back and forth, waiting for the others to arrive. He knew they'd heard him; _'how could they not have?'_ As he proceeded to enter the phone booth a second time, he hopped up on his hind legs and, looking at his paws, let out a frustrated growl as he attempted to punch in the emergency transport command. Slow and delicately as possible, he attempted to use the sharp claws at the end of his large black paws to type in the correct series of numbers. But try as he might, his paws would slip and fumble all over the keypad- horribly botching his attempts. After a final, barely successful try, he sat down and listened for the system to reply. "**Code unrecognized. Access denied**," the speakers replied in a bland monotone. Again, Bruce snarled in frustration, and proceeded to exit the booth, but upon doing so, the blaring sound of squad cars and the blinding flash of searchlights caught his attention and he stealthily leapt behind a nearby dumpster. Peeking around its corner, he watched as two cops and an animal control officer peered into the alley. "That last one came from over here," said one of the officers in regards to the howling. Silent and tense, Bruce remained still and watched as they proceeded to turn and check the next street. But then, just as the scene died down, an officer shouted out in response to a shadow moving behind the dumpster, "I think that's the tail!" Immediately, Bruce looked behind him at his nuisance of a fifth appendage and quickly slipped it down beneath his legs.

As the officers began to cautiously make their way into the alley, Bruce did his best to slip back further into the shadows. Slowly, the men moved further into the alleyway, a loaded tranquilizer gun ready and waiting for the first sign of any activity. Despite his urge to charge forward and take the men down by himself as he normally would, Bruce held his ground, remembering that he _was not_ Batman at the moment and could do nothing to defend himself that wouldn't end in him being shot and stuffed. He continued to back further into the darkness until he and the officers were caught off guard by the scream of a startled alley cat. Accidently bumping into the stray, Bruce had awakened it and caused it to flee from its resting place beneath the dumpster. Skittishly, the little black cat bolted out of the alley, stopping for a minute to hiss at the ones responsible for disturbing her slumber. "Ha, was that the 'tail' you were talking about?" joked one of the officers as he and his partners regained their composure. The suspicious cop took another detailed look around the alleyway before turning back to his teammates with a reply.

"I guess so," he laughed with a shrug. As the three men proceeded to exit the alley, the garbled sounds of a radio alert came through from their squad car.

"Attention all units, we've got a rogue leopard making its way down Atlantic. Have your shields and tranquilizer guns ready. The animal is distressed and presumed dangerous! Again, all units to Atlantic street!" Quickly the men responded to the alert and dashed out of the alley, allowing Bruce to come out of hiding and analyze the pending situation. _'A rogue leopard...' _he thought to himself, reflecting on who it could be. He knew Clark and John were wary enough to stay out of the public eye, under these circumstances. All who remained were Wally and... _'Diana!'_

* * *

Sirens blared, lights flashed, and people screamed as they ran through the streets in a desperate attempt to escape the menacing gaze of the bloodthirsty leopard that freely prowled the streets of Metropolis. Distraught and alone, Diana ran up and down the city streets, searching every alley and store window for Bruce or any of her other teammates. She hadn't seen or heard from any of them since they'd been separated by Grodd's transporter. To be honest, she wasn't even sure who, or rather what, to look for. The mutagen hadn't fully taken effect when they escaped the fortress; looking at the stray cats in the street and the pigeons fighting over breadcrumbs on the sidewalk, she realized that she could be passing by any of them without even realizing it! As she continued to wander down the now deserted streets, the sound of approaching cop cruisers led Diana to leap behind a nearby truck and hope that she hadn't been seen; it was clear she'd caused enough trouble when she attempted to communicate with the citizens the first time, another chaotic outburst was the last thing she needed. Once the cruiser was out of sight she continued to roam the streets, hoping that she'd run into one of her friends sooner or later.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking in circles, Diana's attention was directed upward as a swift black shadow whirled over her head in the sky- _'a pigeon?'_ She thought to herself as the bird perched on a nearby streetlight for a moment. "Well it's about time," commented the bird- a brown eagle with bright green eyes- before swooping down and landing on the sidewalk in front of Diana. "Hey Flash she's over here!" it shouted again before flying around the corner.

"John?" Diana scoffed in confusion as she curiously followed the eagle around the corner to find it flapping around an exhausted fox.

"Diana," sighed the fox as it sat down in the middle of the sidewalk, panting heavily. "A leopard," he exhaled. "Man, why does everyone else get the cool animals?" he whined playfully as he laid down and rolled over to his side.

"Wally," Diana replied as she gratefully sat between her friends. "I've been looking everywhere for you guys. Where are Superman and Batman?" she asked when she saw that two of her teammates were still missing.

"The king of jungle justice told us to find you while he went looking for Bats- that is, if he's even a bat," Flash replied, looking to Green Lantern. "That would be a little cliché, don't you think?" he asked jokingly. Irritably, John shook his head and looked towards Diana.

"At least we know those chemicals didn't mess with his sense of humor," he sighed.

"Indeed," she agreed before repeating her question. "Where are Bruce and Kal?"

"Don't know," replied John. "Superman sent us to find you-"

"He's searching for Batman," answered Flash and Green Lantern. "Hopefully we'll get another call to tip us off."

"Bruce has a communicator?" asked Diana excitedly.

"Not exactly," replied John.

"But we should here him again if we're lucky," continued Wally.

* * *

Back on the other side of the city, Superman cautiously crept through the empty city. Wary of any squad cars or animal control vehicles, he knew his white pelt stood out like a bright light against the dark city streets. Too big to actually hide behind any nearby cars, he moved as quickly as possible, hoping that he'd find his friend soon. "Batman," he whispered as he approached a nearby alleyway. Looking into the dark passage he noticed a rundown phone booth with its door left open, looking back to the main street, he read the familiar signs before calling out again. "Bruce, are you there?" he asked again as he proceeded to walk into the alley. At first there was no answer, but as he made his way further into the shadows, the resonance of a low growl caught his attention. Immediately, Clark turned around just in time to see a large black wolf step forward from the shadows. With a familiar scowl carved into its muzzle, the wolf stared at the white lion standing before it, before cracking a slight smile.

"Took you long enough..."


	2. Chapter 2

***A/N:** So after reading the comments the first excerpt received, it has been made clear to me that this story is worth continuing! And therefore here is the next chapter! ^^ Hope you like it, chapter three should be up this weekend :)

"Bruce?" Superman asked again as he studied the ominous black wolf in front of him. "Ah, finally! We've been looking everywhere for-"

"Where are the others?" Batman interrupted as he peered out of the alleyway, making sure there were no officers in sight. "I take it the suppressant wore off on everyone?" He commented in regards to his friend's new form.

"Looks that way," Superman replied as he too studied Batman up and down. "Flash and Green Lantern are out looking for Diana. Figured we'd cause less of a panic if I let the two of them go looking for her. Not every day you see a lion taking a walk through Metropolis," he joked. "Hopefully they'll have found her and be back here soon, if they even know where we-" his response was quickly cut off as Batman leapt atop the dumpster and let out a loud, long howl. Completely ignoring Superman's perplexed expression, he tilted his head back and continued to bay at the night sky a second time before jumping down from his perch and returning to the phone booth. "What was that?" chuckled Superman in confusion. "Didn't know it was a full moon." he commented as he looked up at the night sky.

"A wolf's howl can be heard from up to six miles away," Bruce calmly replied as he proceeded to study the outside of the phone booth. "Ten if done so in a scarcely wooded area. If the others are anywhere in the city, they'll have heard that like you did and they'll know where to come looking." He continued as he turned around and kicked a panel of the phone booth with his hind legs, causing it to pop off and reveal a series of wires and switches. "We have to get to the watchtower," Bruce said as he began studying the various switches and wires. "Once there I can use the lab to further examine the compounds in Grodd's mutagen and put together an antidote to correct this," he dictated as he began to fiddle with the switches and pluck wires free with his teeth.

"Sounds like a plan; but how are we gonna get there if you're taking the transporter apart?" asked Clark as he watched several frayed circuits get tossed aside.

"I've already tried to gain access to the transporter manually. You can imagine how that ended," Bruce replied as he pulled his head out of the circuit box and stared down at Clark's paws sarcastically. "The only other option is to manually override the system and control it verbally."

"But how are we even going to do that?" Clark asked, still completely unsure of his friends plan. "If people don't understand what we're trying to tell them, how will this machine?"

"Because I'm reprogramming it to understand me like this," Bruce responded as he flipped another switch with his paw and pushed in a button with his nose.

"And if this doesn't wo-"

"It will," Bruce bluntly interrupted as he spit out another wire and backed away from the circuit box. After a moment of studying the various circuits he'd removed, Bruce entered the phone booth and, ignoring the keypad that had failed him on his first attempts, he sat down and let out a long bellowing growl.

"I take it it didn't work?" asked Clark skeptically; but as Bruce exited the booth and stood beside his friend, a satisfied grin slid across his face as the booth lit up and responded.

"**Voice Recognized: Batman**," the machine lifelessly remarked. Confidently, Bruce stared at Clark for a moment before returning to work on the transporter.

"Impressive," Clark irritably sighed. "Now we just have to find John, Wally and Diana and we can get out of here."

"They'll be here," corrected Bruce as he turned around and looked out towards the alley's entrance. "They're not far."

"How can you tell?"

"How often do you see golden eagles in the city?" Bruce calmly replied as he looked up at the large bird of prey that proceeded to swoop down from the skies.

"Finally," Clark exclaimed as he watched John land on the dumpsters edge and stretch his wings.

"You know I never thought it would be this difficult, but I have to give Shayera credit," John said exhaustedly. "This is hard!"

"Yeah well it's not like this is any easier," shouted Wally as he clumsily stumbled into the alley. "You know those moments as a kid when you imagine what it would be like to have a tail? Well it's nothing like what I thought it would be," he joked as he sat down in front of Superman. Still focused on finishing the booth, Bruce finally paused and turned from his work to acknowledge the presence of his teammates. "Hey GL see," exclaimed Wally as he stood up and walked towards Bruce. "What I tell ya, he's not a bat!" Annoyed, both Bruce and John rolled their eyes and tried to ignore Flash's observation. "See, even a total jerk like Luthor isn't that unimaginative," he laughed as he looked from Batman to Green Lantern. Shaking his head in response to the remark, Bruce proceeded to turn back to the phone booth before his attention was caught by the beautiful spotted leopard that shyly turned into the alleyway and looked around at the menagerie of conversing animals. Before she noticed him staring, Bruce quickly spun around and stuck his head back into the circuit box to finish his work.

"Thank Hera," she sighed happily as she entered the alley and greeted her friends. After sharing her relief that everyone was together with Superman she approached the jet black tail that stuck out of the phone booth. "Bruce?" she asked curiously. At first he didn't respond as he pretended to be too focused on his work; but after sudden jolt of pain shot through his body- someone pulling his tail, Bruce finally turned to acknowledge Diana's presence.

"Diana," Bruce finally replied as he stared at the various spots spattered over her coat. Before he could utter another word, Wonder Woman cut him off in an attempt to start a conversation.

"A black wolf," she commented as she examined the thick black fur that covered Bruce's body. "Funny, but this actually fits," she laughed.

"Don't get used to it," Bruce replied as he turned back to his work, embarrassed. "Alright it should be ready now," he continued as he pushed the panel back onto the circuit box and pushed the extra wires under the dumpster. "We're not all going to fix at once; Flash you and Green Lantern will cause less of a panic so you two will go through first. Superman, Wonder Woman and I-" suddenly the sound of cars rushing down the street and police sirens wailing drowned out their plans as the team frantically ran into the shadows to hide.

"You sure this is the right place?" asked one of the officers as his stepped out of his car. "We've already had men scan this area and come back with no results."

"A woman in one of these building says she saw a polar bear come through this alley, and others have been complaining that they've heard a stray dog howling all night." Despite the sour expressions on both Clark and Bruce's faces, John, Wally and Diana couldn't help but cover their mouths and force themselves not to laugh. As the officers further examined the alley, John watched from a fire escape as the officers passed by Clark and Diana and made their way toward the overturned couch that Wally was hiding beneath. Seeing their window of opportunity, Bruce quietly signaled for the two to enter the phone booth. At first Diana stared at him as if he were crazy- eyeing the tranquilizer guns in their hands; but the serious glare in his eyes solidified his command and stealthily both Diana and Clark managed to slip into the booth without being seen. Once inside, Clark nodded as Bruce growled at the phone booth activating the teleportation sequence, as well as gaining the officers attention.

As one of the officers turned in Bruce's direction and approached, he was suddenly startled by the robotic monotone of the teleporter's audio system. "**Voice Recognized: Batman**," the speakers said as the officers spun around just in time to see a flash of light engulf a leopard and a giant white lion! Firing their weapons at the sight, the men became even more confused when the lights faded, revealing that the two big cats had somehow vanished! While they proceeded to check the mysterious phone booth, Bruce looked up at and John and signaled for Wally to get ready to make a break for the booth. Quietly, John managed to fly past the officers and exit the alley. As the men continued to look inside the booth, Wally exited his hiding place and began to creep toward the booth, just then the men were startled by the sound of breaking glass and a trash can hitting the sidewalk. Immediately the men reacted and ran out of the alley to the scene of the noise, allowing Wally and Bruce to jump into the teleporter. Shortly after, John returned and perched on Bruce's shoulder as he prepared to activate the machine.

"Good work John," he commented before barking into the speaker and activating the teleportation sequence.

"Same to you; but what are we supposed to do when we get to the watch tower?" asked John as the booth began to light up.

"Leave that to me," Bruce replied as the final flash of light sparked in the alley and the three were ported up to the watchtower.


	3. Chapter 3

***A/N:** Hello again! I present to you the next chapter! Sorry about the wait, I was busy this weekend spending time with the family for my sisters birthday. The big 1-3! I feel so old! *sniffs* They grow up so fast...*sentimental tear* But anyway, here you go, this chapter mainly focuses on the human portion of the league and how they handle this outrageous bit of news, but don't worry, that doesn't mean our furry five aren't in it! Anyway, I'm gonna shut up and let you read; will update soon!

* * *

Staring out of the window, looking down at the earth below, Booster Gold unenthusiastically maintained his post on watch duty. Lazily twiddling his thumbs, he stared out at the empty assembly halls and sighed dismally before verbally expressing his disdain for the night watch. "Man, I know it's only once a week, but I never volunteered for this," he groaned to Skeets. "I mean, people volunteer for the night watch all the time, why was I 'assigned'?"

"Probably because you've never volunteered," the little droid responded as he hovered over his friend's shoulder. "Every member of the league is required to assist in the watch sooner or later-"

"Yeah but for what?" Booster continued to whine. "It's not like we even get free donuts or anything. If we're trying to protect the earth, shouldn't we be doing it _on_ earth?" He asked, folding his arms in discontent. "I mean let's be honest, Booster Gold is more than capable of protecting earth without being stuck on watch duty. I'm a superhero, not a watchdog."

"Yes Booster, but league policy has required you to assume the duty of a watchdog for the night," Skeets calmly replied just as the elevator doors opened allowing Vigilante to exit and make his way towards the slouching Booster Gold.

"Even Booster," he said as he casually sauntered toward the disgruntled leaguer at his post. "Came to relieve you of yer duties, I got the next shift." He continued as he placed a hand on the back of Booster's seat.

"See," said Skeets optimistically. "Your ordeal is over. Now we can proceed to find something of interest to do."

"Finally," Booster Gold cheered as he sprang from his seat and nodded to his substitute. "Thanks Vig. You have no idea how dull this was," he continued as he pointed out of the immense glass windows, out to the starry black cosmos. "Nothing ever happens-" just then, there was a sudden flash of light from the transporter bay below. Startled and confused, both Vigilante and Booster Gold, leapt toward the railing and peered down at the transporter as the flash of light began to subside. Both knew nothing of any missions taking place that night, and no one was expected to be exiting or entering the tower at the moment, so in suspicion, the two proceeded to draw their weapons in anticipation of an intruder; however, as the lights and matter cleared, what the two saw was far from what they'd expected... a spotted leopard and an _enormous_ white lion stood calmly in the Watchtower stepping off of the transporter and surveying the area.

"What in the name of-"

"Skeets!" exclaimed Booster Gold in a loud whisper. "There's a lion in the watchtower!"

"Don't forget the leopard," the little android replied as its master fearfully crouched behind his chair.

"Well thankee, I hadn't noticed," snapped Vigilante as he turned back to his shocked teammate. Turning back to the big cats down below, he watched as the two creatures remained near the transporter, still searching the area for any other presence. Confused, Vigilante studied the two predators as they calmly held their ground. Any other animal (had such a scenario ever happened) would have been running through the watchtower, terrified and frantic to find a way out, but these two seemed completely unfazed, as if they knew where they were and what they were doing. Sensing something was not right, Vigilante shot a glance at Booster Gold and ordered for him to call in back up. "Go find Shayera n' Green Arrow," he whispered sternly as he looked back down at the transporter which began to activate a second time. Before the light subsided and whatever else was getting off of the transporter could be seen, Vigilante repeated his order to find backup. "Git goin'!" he shouted as Booster and Skeets hurried to find any other leaguers in the tower.

Looking back at the scene below, Vigilante stared at the big cats as they approached the transporter and greeted the _second_ group of animals that had somehow made it into the watchtower! '_What in tarnation?_' he thought to himself as the other animals- a fox, an eagle, and a wolf- also exited the transporter and joined the lion and leopard. Listening to the discombobulated series of growls, screeches, and roars, Vigilante grew even more confused, eavesdropping on what sounded like a conversation. As if the idea of a group of wild animals infiltrating the watchtower wasn't crazy enough, now they were having a discussion. Still studying the scene, Vigilante had all but forgotten about Booster until he heard the elevator doors open and his teammate return, this time with Green Arrow and Hawk Girl.

"Vig, any sign of-"

"Ssh!" the cowboy snapped as he saw the wolf turn toward the source of the commotion. Its ears standing erect and a focused scowl on its face, Booster tried to duck down behind a chair, hoping he hadn't been seen; but as the rest of the animals turned and looked up to the balcony, the small group knew their cover had been blown.

"How on earth did they get in here?" asked Shayera as she fearlessly looked down at their intruders.

"The transporter," Vigilante replied. "And I'm still wond'rin' how the varmints figured out how to use that." He continued while he and Green Arrow studied the animals, their weapons aimed and ready. Her mase clenched in her fist, Shayera also studied the strange pack of strays. Looking each over, she finally focused on the shaggy red fox which seemed to be in conversation with the visibly annoyed eagle. Watching as the fox continued to jokingly poke and prod the bird with its paw, Shayera, loosened her grip on her mase and looked back to her team.

"Call me crazy, but I don't think they're dangerous," she said as she looked back down at the group of animals.

"Excuse me?" shouted Green Arrow and Booster Gold in shock.

"Don't mean to question your judgment ma'am, but have ya not noticed the group of _wild animals_-"

"Three of which are known to be deadly" added Booster Gold as he pointed down at the lion, wolf, and leopard.

"Sitting in Justice League headquarters?"

"Well then I guess we'll have to address the two that are less threatening," she replied as she flew down to the transporter.

"Shayera!" shouted Green Arrow as he Booster Gold, and Vigilante ran to the elevator to follow her downstairs. Standing mere feet away from the animals, Hawk Girl maintained her composure and, cautiously began to approach; but before she could take more than two steps, the fox- clumsily, but elated none the less- ran towards her and began to happily bounce up and down, barking and whining as if it were trying to tell her an epic story.

"Okay?" Shayera replied as she confusedly stared down at the energetic ball of red fur. Not long after being greeted by the fox, Shayera froze with fear as the leopard approached and stood at her side; by then Green Arrow and the others had made it to the transporter and sprinted to Hawk Girl's defense before the hulking white lion could make contact. Weapons aimed, they proceeded to shout warnings and threats at the perplexed and, seemingly annoyed apex predator.

"That's it, we've gotta figure out how these fur balls got in here, and send them back to where they came from!" Shouted Green Arrow, his electric-charged arrow still aimed at the lion's head. Immediately, Vigilante and Booster.

"Would you idiots relax!" Shayera shouted as she stepped between the men and their targets. "Don't you think that if these things were dangerous they would've attacked by now?" The group continued to yell and bicker about the situation, leaving their subjects to watch in silence. After several more minutes of pointless arguing, the quarrel was quickly silenced by the resonating rumble of a growl. Looking back to the animals, the team redrew their weapons- Shayera included- as the brooding black wolf walked forward. Frozen in shock as the menacing canine approached, all four heroes completely failed to notice the suspicious object that the wolf had clenched in its fangs until it animal placed on the floor in front of them sliding it forward with its paw. Suspicious, Shayera stared at the wolf as it exchanged glances and calmly backed away, allowing her to cautiously pick up the shiny black object. Curiously, she mused over the black metal object.

"What is it?" Vigilante asked as he and the others watched Shayera run her fingers along its sleek surface. Completely unsure of what it was, she looked back to the wolf, an intense but otherwise relaxed look in its eyes.

"Be careful," warned Green Arrow. "It could be a bomb!" Cynically, Shayera turned towards him and dismissed his warning.

"Uh, he just had this thing in his mouth," she said pointing to the item's bearer, waving the object freely in her other hand. "I highly doubt that this thing is-" suddenly she was cut short as the little black object burst open! Startled everyone, including most of the animals, jumped back in fear as the little object expanded on the floor, revealing its true identity: a batarang!

Staring at the signature weapon in disbelief, Shayera and the others exchanged looks of surprise and confusion, before returning their attention to the object. "Is that what I think it is?" asked Booster Gold as he and Skeets inquisitively examined the batarang. Looking from the weapon, to the wolf that provided it, Green Arrow's eyes widened as he found himself stunned with realization.

"I think the better question is... _'who'_?"


	4. Chapter 4

Back in the main observatory, the league continued to muse over the situation at hand: several of their founding members had been turned into animals and no one knew how or why it happened. "No way," shouted Booster Gold in disbelief. "There's no way _that_ is Batman!" he said as he pointed to the large wolf that continued to stand in front of the other animals.

"Then how do you explain this?" Hawk Girl asked, still holding the batarang in her hand.

"The mutt could've found it and used it to activate one of the teleportation booths in Metropolis," he answered, still unable to wrap his mind around the situation."This can't be Batman!"

"I don't know Booster," Vigilante replied as he studied the animals one by one, finishing on the black wolf. "That stare is pretty convincin'."

Looking around at the other animals- also waiting for the anxiety to die down- Green Arrow and Vigilante finally put an end to the madness with a proposition of their own.

"Maybe we get B'wanna Beast and have him sort this mess out?" said Vigilante. "He is the expert on critters-"

"Only these aren't 'critters'," Green Arrow corrected.

"Call in Dr. Fate," ordered Shayera. "He can read their minds and shed some light on this mess." She continued as she turned and looked around the room. "Then we'll know if these guys are who they say they are, and how to handle it."

Not long after, Dr. Fate was contacted and brought to the watchtower where the outlandish situation was taking place. Upon reaching the infirmary, he studied his subjects and calmly approached the black wolf. Exchanging glances with the creature, he proceed to kneel before the animal and place his hands on either side of its head. After a few minutes of intense silence, he lowered his hands and rose to his feet as Green Arrow blurted out the question burning in the back of everyone's minds. "Well?" he asked curiously. "What did you see?"

"Your assumptions were correct," he said calmly as he looked back at the group of animals. "This is Batman." Stunned, the others all stared in silence, still trying to wrap their minds around this news.

"You gotta be kiddin'?" shouted Vigilante, astounded by the revelation. "And the-"

"Your other League members," Fate continued as he pointed towards the other animals.

"No way!" shouted Booster Gold in disbelief. Shocked, but slightly amused, Green Arrow- now unafraid of the group- stood in front of the wolf now identified as Batman, and raised an eyebrow in thought.

"A wolf," he said with a smirk. "I have to admit, this is actually what I would expect," he joked as he proceeded down the line of transformed heroes. Stopping at the lion, he briefly studied the beast's size and build before making another ID. "Superman; Wonder Woman," he continued in regards to the leopard as he continued to make his way down the line. Looking at the wily red fox and remembering its jovial greeting with Shayera, it take long for him to identify. "Flash," he smirked as the fox yipped in response and happily looked at its comrades.

"Don't tell me," Interrupted Shayera as she stood over the clearly embarrassed eagle. "John?" she laughed as she crouched down to look the bird in the eye. Seeing its glowing green eyes, Shayera burst into laughter and began to play with her ex's feathers. "Oh this is priceless!" she laughed as she stood and turned to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" asked Dr. Fate as she walked toward the hall.

"To find Vixen," she smirked much to Green Lantern's disapproval. "She's got to see this!" she continued as she flew down the hall, leaving others to ask further questions.

"How did this happen?" asked Vigilante as he knelt in front of Superman, hoping to receive an explanation, but instead of learning what had been done, he was informed of what could not be done.

"He cannot answer you," Dr. Fate interjected. "None of them can."

"Why not?" asked Green Arrow.

"They have lost the ability to communicate while in this form. They are able to understand and they have the answers, but are unable to share them with you."

"Well then how are we supposed to who's responsible n' how to fix it? They can't speak, and it ain't like they can write it down for us to read." Vigilante commented as he flexed his fingers in front of his face. "How else do you expect us to get answers?"

"We could have B'wanna Beast translate for them," Booster Gold suggested as he proceeded to exit the room and find the League's leading animal expert.

"No, that would take too long-"

"Not to mention, be extremely awkward. No offense," Green Arrow and Vigilante argued, looking back at Superman.

"There is another way," Dr. Fate replied. "I could read their minds, collectively, and gather the information necessary to figure out exactly how this happened, and possibly even how to correct it."

"Sounds good to me," Vigilante responded as he looked around at everyone in the room. "Do what you gotta."

"Alright," Fate replied as he direct the five animals to sit in a circle and close their eyes as he began to chant an unfamiliar mantra, allowing his access into their subconscious and unlock the origins of their predicament...

***A/N: **Yeah I know, short chapter, but that's only because the next chapter(s) are going to MUCH longer! I'd like to thank all of my readers for the reviews and compliments, so happy that you enjoy it. Haha and to think, this was going to be a stupid one shot! So glad that didn't happen :) See you in the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

***A/N:** Here be the next chapter! Keep in mind that all of this is a flashback being collected by Dr. Fate from our furry crime fighters. Hopefully these next few chapters will shine some light on how this mess started. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

In the Metropolis City jewelers, glass and metal littered the floor as shadow blasted through a wall and violently crashed on the floor. As the dust and debris cleared, the exhausted silhouette of an apprehended thief- copperhead- lay propped against the wall as his opponent gracefully floated down from the air, resting her hands on her hips as the spineless wretch cowardly surrendered. "Well that's the last of them," sighed Superman as he landed beside Wonder Woman. With an unconscious Shade draped over his shoulder, he proceeded to turn and face Green Lantern and Flash as they escorted Sinestro and Killer Frost, trapped inside the force field of Lantern's ring.

The team continued to muse over the apprehended criminals as Batman approached, his eyes fixed on his handheld computer as he deduced the reasoning behind the gang's poorly executed heist. Skeptical, he approached Shade and began to interrogate. "Who are you working for this time?" he asked as he snatched the creep up by his coat.

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" Shade snidely riddled back.

"Judging by how unorganized and how easy it was to take these creeps down," commented Green Lantern, "I doubt they're following anyone's orders."

"Seriously," agreed Flash. "Just ran a search of the building, everything's where we left it. They didn't take anything. Heh," he chuckled as confidently leaned on Superman, "Either these guys are really losing their touch or we're just _that_ good!"

"Don't jinx yourself," mumbled Copperhead under his breath. "You jerks'll get yours..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" questioned Wonder Woman as she took a step toward the reptilian rebel. Comically, he flinched and closed his eyes- as well as his mouth- in fear, much to the Amazon princess' amusement. Still contemplating the thief's words, the league prepared to further investigate the warning, but within moments it was shrugged off as an empty threat. Within no time, the authorities arrived and proceeded to apprehend the criminals, allowing for the league to further analyze the crime scene. Though it had been confirmed that no valuables had been stolen, something still didn't add up. "I don't get it," Wonder Woman thought to herself as she and Green Lantern surveyed the perimeter of the building. "If they weren't here for the jewels, then what was the point? Why even break in?"

"When you're as crazy as those losers, who knows what your plan is?" he replied as he confirmed another locked safe. "Those guys could've just been bored-"

"Or maybe Lex is the bored one," interjected Flash as he joined his teammates in the discussion. "Maybe he just got tired of getting his butt kicked so he decided to let those losers get caught." At first, the others stared at Flash impatiently, but in time his point was validated, until Batman and Superman approached, voicing their own opinions.

"Call me arrogant, but that was almost too easy," Superman commented as the team exited the building.

"Can we agree to both statements?" Green Lantern joked with a smirk.

"He's got a point," Batman agreed as he contemplated the scenario. "Think about it, they broke in to the building in broad daylight, stole nothing, and practically let themselves get caught. There had to be reason for this."

"Hello," sighed Flash as he confidently repeated his hypothesis. "Lex definitely sent those losers here to get busted. The Injustice League is falling apart, so he set his lackeys up to get caught."

"As low as that sounds, I don't think an egomaniac like Lex Luthor would pull a stunt like that," replied Wonder Woman.

"Unless they weren't the ones being-" just before he could finish his statement, Batman flinched and clenched his neck in pain before wearily dropping to his knees.

"Batman!" Wonder Woman shouted as she and the others ran to their teammate's aid to address his sudden pain; but before any of them could even determine what had happened, they too were also struck with a sudden twinge of stinging pain in their arms, legs and necks causing them to weakly pass out the city sidewalk. As the others slowly drifted out of consciousness, Superman, barely awake himself, looked down to his arm and found the source of his pain: a large dart-like syringe filled with a metallic pink liquid which was quickly emptying into his veins! Summoning his last bit of strength, he weakly reached for the syringe, but his efforts to remove the object were futile as he too eventually passed out on the floor.

* * *

Behind the walls of an empty cell Wonder Woman lay slumped against the wall, unconscious and unaware of her surroundings until the odd sounds of gurgling and sniffles woke her subconscious. Sleepily, she opened her eyes only to find that she was trapped in a small grey room with a single, barred window peeking outside. Nervous and disoriented, she immediately staggered to her feet, her eyes still adjusting to the dim light shining into the cell. Once she had finally regained consciousness, Wonder Woman managed to stand and step away from her spot in the corner, but winced as a sudden stinging pain ran through her calf. Reacting to the pain, she crouched down and clenched her leg, taking a moment to examine it for any wounds. Under the dull light her eyes strained to find the source of the pain, but upon checking her leg she saw no sign of any cuts or scars, nothing except for an oddly colored bruise over the source of the stinging: a strange brown spot on her calf, that was surrounded by several black blotches. Unsure of what the odd mark was and how it had gotten on her leg, Diana suspiciously continued to study the mark further until her attention was redirected to the odd gurgling sound coming from the back of her cell. Apprehensively, she proceeded to investigate, but after a few small steps into the shadows, she lost her footing and tripped over a large mass on the floor.

Pushing herself up from the ground, Diana looked to see what it was that she'd tripped over, only to have her question answered for her as a familiar and equally disoriented voice began to babble and excitedly ask what was going on. "Whoa, what the-" the voice stammered as its owner quickly sprang to his feet. "Where am I? Whose-"

"Flash!" Wonder Woman exclaimed in relief. "Thank Hera."

"Wonder Woman?" the Scarlet Speedster replied as yawned and sleepily blinked his eyes, trying to get his bearings. "Where are we? What's going on?"

"I wish I knew," Diana replied. "Were you here the whole time? Sleeping?" she asked, humorously realizing the odd sound that had woken her was probably his snoring.

"I guess. Anyone else in here?" Flash asked as he surveyed the dark room.

"I don't think so," Diana replied as she walked toward the little window peeking outside the cell. Spotting several other cells scattered through the hall outside, she tried to see if she could get a look inside of the other cells. "The others must be in one of those cages." She enquired, pointing to the window. "We have to get out and find them, so we can figure out where we are."

"No problem," Flash replied as he approached the thick steel door. "I'll vibrate through the door and let you out. Then we can look for the guys." Flash explained as he walked past Wonder Woman. After taking a moment to stretch and analyze the door, he took a step back before running at the door, only to collide with it head on.

"Are you alright?" Wonder Woman asked as she helped her friend to his feet.

"Super," Flash groaned as he rubbed his throbbing head. "What gives? This door can't be that thick?" he griped as he stood and proceeded to run at the door again, only to be knocked out a second time.

"Maybe I should try," Wonder Woman suggested as she sat Flash aside and took her turn in front of the door. Her fist clenched, she drew her arm back and the hurled it forward in an attempt to punch the mighty door open, but as her hand made contact with the hulking piece of metal, like Flash before her, the only response the Amazon received was that of the shrill pain that pulsed through her arm. "Ouch!" she cried as she gripped her aching fist and stared up at the victorious door.

"You too?" commented Flash in regards to Wonder Woman's failure. "This door is no joke. Must have been built specifically to keep us in," he continued.

"But it looks like an ordinary cell door," Diana replied as she ran her hand over the heavy piece of metal. "There has to be a way to get through it. Maybe we're just not trying hard enough?" She mused as she made her way to the back wall of the cell; turning back towards the door, she began to run forward before leaping into the air with the intent of flying through the steel blockade. However, her intent of flight was short-lived as quickly came down on the concrete floor with a thud.

"Are you okay?" Flash asked as he helped his fallen teammate up from the ground.

"Why can't I fly?" Diana whispered to herself as she sat on the ground and looked back at the door.

"Maybe it's the altitude?" Flash suggested with a smirk. "Or it could be that door. That's probably why I can't move quick enough to vibrate through." He continued as he prepared to take a seat beside her. "Ever since I woke up in this place I've been slow-OW!" he shrieked in pain as he sprung up from the floor and clenched his upper thigh in pain.

"What is it?" Wonder Woman asked as she turned her friend around to study his backside.

"I think I just sat on a piece of glass," he whined as he tentatively rubbed his backside. Studying the source of the pain, Diana calmed her teammate long enough to remove the foreign object from his rear. Holding it in her hand, she then looked back to a now calmed Flash and showed him the cause of his discomfort.

"I think I've found why our powers aren't working," she said as she held up a small syringe, partially filled with pink fluid. "And it's not the altitude..."

***A/N**: Sorry about the **RIDONCULOUSLY** long wait, I've been up to my eyeballs in other obligations (mostly pointless homework XP). But hopefully it was worth the wait! Should have the next chapter up soon. 'Til then, please RxR! ^^


	6. Chapter 6

***A/N: **Here's my newest chapter! Sorry for making you wait for almost a month, trust me, I wanted to get back to this just as much as you did! Anyway, here you go. And as always please RxR! ^_^

Alone in his cell, Superman woke with a fright in response to a series of arrhythmic booms echoing outside of his cell. Anxious and unaware of where he was, the Man of Steel rushed toward the door and struggled to catch a glimpse of whatever was making the noise. Barely able to see through the small glass window, the Kryptonian raised his fist and hurled it toward the door without a second thought, only to jerk back in reaction to the pain of his fingers crunching against the steel doors. Confused, he stepped closer to the door and ran his hands along the steel panels, tentatively examining its surface. Despite the force of his blow, he was shocked to see that, aside from the slight smudging left by his sweaty fist, his fist had barely left a mark on the hulking barrier! Puzzled and frustrated, Superman tried again to catch a glimpse of the scenery outside and figure out where he was and, more importantly where his friends were. Still without any visual clues as to where he was, he turned around and examined his empty silver cell. With no one else in sight, Superman was convinced that he _had _to get out and find out who was behind this.

Again he approached the solid steel door and took a knee; intently he focused on the large piece of metal in front of him. Staring intently, the powerful Kryptonian tried to use his x-ray vision to see into the door and locate a weak point which would allow him to break free; but try as he might, despite the stinging pain and burning of his strained eyes, he could see no more than the thick top layer of the door's steel plating. Confused, Superman, slammed his eyes shut and massaged them gently before concentrating on the door a again, this time with the intent of burning his way through. After a moment, the alien's eyes began to glow a warm red and a beam of light shot towards the door as the metal slowly began to melt. But before the powerful beams of heat could do any significant damage, Superman began to wince as the glowing red beam started to fade. After taking a minute to refresh his eyes, he looked back to the door and prepared to get back to work, only to find that his renowned heat vision, which had just been working- though weakly- a moment ago, was no more. Growing even more anxious, the Man of Steel began to wonder why his powers had suddenly become nonexistent. Here he sat, trapped inside a steel cell- a cage- he frustratedly sulked and tried to figure out what was going on. Normally, any steel door such as this would have been blasted open in an instant, but for some reason none of his attempts proved successful. Angrily, he rose to his feet and faced off against the door, his eyes focused and his fists clenched, ready for the next round. Aggressively, he began to punch and kick the door with all of his strength. Ignoring the burning pain that shot through his limbs every time his hands and feet made contact with his steel adversary.

Finally, after what seemed like an eon of futile blows, Superman exhaustedly dropped to his knees and stared up at the various dents and dings left in the door- none of which showed any true signs of damage or freedom. Beyond the point of frustration, he slammed his eyes shut and leaned forward, propping his heavy head against the victorious door. '_What's going on?_' The Man of Steel thought to himself. '_Why aren't my powers working?_' he exhaled, defeated. Dismally he opened his eyes and looked down at the cement floor beneath him. Seeing the small sliver of light that managed to peek through from beneath the door, he waited in anticipation of a shadow cast by a passing stranger- possibly the one responsible for his entrapment, but no such shadow approached. As he pulled his forehead away from the door, Superman look forward and with an intense exhale, prepared to continue his attempts to beat his way through the door; but then as he prepared to raise his fist to the door, his attention was caught by the fluorescent glow of a mysterious object off in the corner. Suspiciously, he approached and bent down to examine the object; as he plucked the little object from the dark corner, he felt his heart jump as he immediately recognized what he held in his hand: the suspicious pink syringe he saw lodged in his arm! Stunned with realization, he almost dropped the syringe, but upon further study, he saw that the medical tool was still half full, as were the several other needles that littered the corner.

Perplexed, Superman rolled the little needle in his hand for a moment, musing over its contents and concluding that it was responsible for his predicament. Whatever was in that solution had to be the reason his powers were no longer working, and why he and the others had passed out back at the jewelers. '_It had to be some kind of tranquilizer,_' Superman thought to himself, '_with neutralizing effects..._'. He continued to deduce the purpose of the syringes until his attention was captured by the clinking sound of metal just outside of his cell.

"Superman," called a familiar voice from outside. Immediately, he responded and ran towards the door.

"John?" he asked excitedly as he peered through the tiny window at the top of the door. Fidgeting to get a clear view to the outside, he gratefully watched as Green Lantern and Batman hurriedly tried to pick the lock to his cell. "Boy am I glad to see you guys! I thought I was stuck here. Where have you been?"

"Picking the lock to our own cell," Batman blandly replied as he adjusted the pick at the end of his glove. "Where are Flash and Wonder Woman?"

"Not sure," Superman replied as the three men continued to fiddle with the door. "It's just me in here. Any idea where we are anyway?" he asked as he Green Lantern and Batman slid the door aside. "I'm not sure who's responsible, but I think I know what knocked us out," he continued as he presented his friends with one of the syringes. Observantly, Batman took the syringe and studied its contents before turning to acknowledge his friends hypothesis. "I also think it's why my powers aren't working." Listening to Superman's testimony, Batman looked down at the little syringe and compared it to the one Green Lantern had been holding. Noticing the similarities in the needles, the detective prepared to validate his friend's observation; but before he could reply, both he and Green Lantern stared at their friend in confusion. "What?" Superman asked in confusion. "What are you staring at?"

"Your powers aren't the only thing that's been affected," commented Green Lantern as he directed Superman to take a look at his reflection in the outer wall's mirror-like surface. Immediately the Kryptonian was shocked to see his hair- now an icy white- long and thick as it covered his head in wild tufts, and ran down the side of his face in sideburns.

"What the..." he exclaimed, exacerbated.

"Come on," directed Batman as he began to search the other cells throughout the hall. "We have to find Wonder Woman and Flash, and then we'll figure out what's going on." Still examining his hair, Superman hesitantly left his reflection to catch up with his teammates, but only after grabbing another syringe that lay on the floor of his open cell.

* * *

Stealthily, the trio made their way down the hall and continued to search the remaining cells for Flash and Wonder Woman. As they passed by several empty cells Superman continued to clench the syringe in his hand, now focusing on his reflection in the silver detailing. While he hadn't noticed his hair before, now it had become impossible to ignore. Something was wrong and they had to find Wally and Diana before things got any stranger. "Any idea where they could be?" asked Green Lantern as he peeked into an empty cell. "We're almost at the end of the hall," he continued as they approached the final strip of cells.

"Do we even know who's responsible for this?" asked Superman.

"We have to find Diana and Wally first," replied Batman as he continued to scan every cell ahead of him. "We can search for culprits afterwards." After passing a number of barren cells Green Lantern saw what appeared to be a dim light coming from one of the cells, and through a crack in the door, shadows could be seen pacing back and forth.

Over here," he shouted as Superman and Batman followed close behind.

"Diana?" called Batman as he bolted toward the door and looked inside the small window.

"Bruce?" the Amazonian princess shouted in response as she and Flash ran to the window in response.

"Boy are you guys a sight for sore eyes!" exclaimed Flash, relieved. "You gonna help us out of here? We've been trying for hours with no luck."

"My powers aren't working," continued Wonder Woman as she stuck her hand through the window. Looking up from his work on the lock, Batman was startled at the sight of her hand- covered in blotchy, black and brown spots.

"Diana," exclaimed Superman as he took her hand and examined what appeared to be a series of odd bruises.

"We'll get you out of there," assured Batman as he finished picking the door's lock and assisted Green Lantern and Superman as they moved the heavy blockade aside. Once the door was opened, both Flash and Wonder Woman sprung from their confinement and greeted their friends.

"Bout time you guys showed up! We were beginning to wonder," said Flash. "Any idea what's going on here? Not where they had you, but this cell was obviously designed to neutralize powers," he continued as he pointed back into the dark cage.

"I don't think it's the cell," commented Wonder Woman as she removed a small object from her pocket: a little syringe, filled with a fluorescent pink liquid. "We found this on the floor. And there's two other empty ones inside." Immediately, Batman took the syringe and held it up in front of his face, he then looked back to Superman and Green Lantern and compared it to the two syringes they carried with them.

"You guys got them too?" asked Flash as he took the syringe back. "Found this one in my-" he turned around and looked down at his upper thigh before embarrassedly turning back to his friends and modestly covered his rear, "hehe, never mind."

"This has to be some kind of inhibiter compound," commented Superman as he shook the neon pink contents.

"Whoa, " scoffed Flash as he looked up at his teammate's face. "What happened to your hair?"

"It has to be some kind of side effect," Superman replied dismally.

"That would explain these," Wonder Woman commented, as she looked down at the various spots on her body in disgust.

"I could be an allergic reaction," suggested Green Lantern. "Some type of rash?"

"I don't think so," replied Batman as he approached Wonder Woman and examined her skin. "Whatever it is, it's spreading to your hair." He continued as he ran his fingers along the mysterious spots that littered her wavy black locks. "This is more than just some neutralizer," he concluded. "Otherwise, John and I wouldn't have received it." Validating his observation, the others began to reconsider their initial assumptions of the syringe's intent.

"Then what is it?" asked Green Lantern skeptically.

"Not sure," replied Batman as he studied the manifesting spots on Diana's face, and the increasing length of Superman's ice-white facial hair. "But we'll have to find out before things get any worse..."


	7. Chapter 7

Stealthily creeping through the empty halls, the Justice League vigilantly searched for a clue as to where they were and how to get out. During their wanderings, the team grew even more confused and determined to get answers as the team's mysterious symptoms began to intensify. Within an hour of their directionless wandering, the entire team had fallen victim to the loss of their powers, sudden bursts of exhaustion, and the sudden and excessive growth of body hair. Remaining wary of any signs of security or surveillance, they continued to press on in their search for an exit.

As they moved on, Batman paused for a moment and looked ahead of the group in deep thought. "Bruce?" Wonder Woman asked in concern as she watched her friend tensely flexed his hands in pain before pushing his now chin-length black hair out of his face.

"Give me one of those syringes," he grumbled, his voice sounding deeper and more grainy than usual- like the growl of a wild beast. Obediently, Flash handed him one of the half-full syringes; but as the Dark Knight reached forward for the object, Flash felt his heart stop in shock at the sight of his friend's gloves- the fingertips torn open by Bruce's razor-sharp nails. Ignoring his expression, Batman took the syringe and held it close to his face in closer examination. "We have to find a lab for further examination," he declared, still holding the needle in his hand. "I need to find out what's in this and what it's for. Maybe then I'll be able to reverse its effects," he paused and put a hand to his head. "Or at least create a suppressant to keep whatever's going on at bay until we get out of here."

"Works for me," replied Green Lantern while uncomfortably scratching and fidgeting with his back and forearms. The excessive scratching and squirming continued, as Green Lantern aggressively pushed his sleeves up, a series of small brown and grey flurries floated down from his arms, landed at the team's feet. Curious, Wonder Woman bent down and plucked one of the oddly familiar entities from the ground and held it up for further study.

"Is that what I think it is?" commented Flash as Wonder Woman opened her hand and allowed the others to gawk at the little brown _feather _that had fallen from their teammate's arm.

"That came off of me?" exclaimed Green Lantern as he began to prod and study his arms in shock.

"That's it," said a shocked Flash. "Let's hurry up and find out what's in that pink ooze so Bats can get to work on an antidote."

"Agreed," added Superman as his attention was directed to what appeared to be the sound of footsteps turning down the corridor. Knowing that they were clearly at a disadvantage without their powers and these odd symptoms would only further their handicap, the League sneakily hid in a nearby cell and watched from the shadows as Giganta and Cheetah casually walked past in the middle of a conversation.

"-Well I know it's not what Grodd would've wanted, but Lex insisted that I alter the serum," explained Cheetah as she conversed with Giganta. "Not that I'm choosing sides or anything, but Lex's choice of final outcomes does do them justice."

"Yeah," agreed Giganta giddily. "Flash really is a fox!" She joked as she affectionately placed her hand over her heart. Playfully the two women pushed one another and continued to giggle as they walked down the hall. Once they'd turned the corner and walked out of site, the team left their hiding place to continue their escape, but only after analyzing the women's words.

"Well, not my first pick for a crush... but I do like tall women," said Flash with a cheeky grin.

"Well at least now we know who's behind all of this," commented Green Lantern matter-o-factly.

"I'll bet this is the 'serum' they were talking about," said Superman as he held up one of the syringes.

"Yeah, but what did they mean by 'final outcome'?" asked Wonder Woman as she looked down at the various spots and speckles on her arms and legs. "You mean this isn't the end of it?"

"They must be heading back to our cells," observed Superman as he followed the women's direction with his eyes.

"Then we'd better hurry," ordered Batman as he made his way in the opposite direction. "Once they realize we're not there, they could sound-" before he could finish, bright lights began to flash red, and a howling alarm blared through the halls. Immediately, the group ran down the hall, catching their foes off guard as they blasted through them in search of the headquarters' lab. After several minutes of evading recapture and fighting of attacks, Flash spotted a door leading to a large chrome room filled with scientific charts and medical equipment.

"Found it!" he shouted as he held the door open and allowed his friends to enter before closing the door in hopes that they hadn't been seen. Immediately, Batman leapt to the nearest computer and began to hack into its system in an attempt to crack the code of the mystery serum inside the syringe. Within minutes, he'd managed to locate a series of files which appeared to have something to do with the mysterious pink liquid at the center of this mess.

"Well?" asked Superman as he diligently stood behind his friend, trying to comprehend the various formulas and equations on the screen. "What is it?"

"Some type of splicing mutagen," Batman replied, his eyes glued to the main screen while his clawed fingernails aggressively stabbed at the keyboard.

"Splicing?"Superman asked in confusion. "You mean, like DNA?"

"Only one problem," Batman said as he pulled up a series of alleles and DNA sequences. "This isn't normal DNA, not human anyway..."

"Then what is it?" Green Lantern impatiently interjected; but before he could receive an answer, the sound of angrily shouting voices approaching the door.

"There's no time," Batman shouted as he punched in a series of buttons and ran to a nearby chemical hood to remove five small vials, brimming with a fizzy orange substance. "Here," he said as he handed each of his teammates a vile and an empty syringe. "There's no time to completely analyze and reverse the serum, but I've managed to find a way to freeze it's affects- temporarily, anyway," he explained as he filled his syringed and injecting its contents into his arm. Suddenly, there was a banging at the door outside as the Legion of Doom began to force their way inside. Immediately, Superman and the others filled their syringes and followed Batman's lead as they administered his suppressant.

Discarding their needles, the team quickly assumed a defensive stance as the door blasted open and the swarm of raging villains charged their captives. The fight was intense, albeit brief as, with the home advantage, the Legion quickly overpowered their prisoners and brought them before their arch enemies: Gorilla Grodd and Lex Luthor.

"Well now," sighed the great ape in clear amusement of his captives' disheveled appearances. "Trying to escape were we?" At first there was no response as the five heroes simply glared up their foe hatefully. "I must admit, I didn't expect any of you to make it this far," he paused and spitefully examined the blotches and spots that littered Wonder Woman's body, "Looking like this anyway..."

"What are you talking about?" Wonder Woman hissed in anger. "What have you done to us?" shouted as she struggled to get out of her bindings and attack the primate.

"Never mind that," the simian crime lord cooed sadistically. "Though I must admit, I didn't expect the effects of my mutagen to take this long," he sighed mockingly as he sneered at the thick white coat of hair the enveloped Superman's face, "Trust me when I say, you'll find out soon enough..." He promised, unaware of the suppressant Batman had just administered to his teammates. "No matter, you people have always been inferior. I'm simply correcting Nature's evident flaw... Soon you five will all succumb to the true, lesser beings you really are!"

"Dude, you are one sick money," commented Flash, much to his adversary's disgust; but instead of indulging in the Scarlet Speedster's taunting, Grodd confidently turned away and allowed Lex to give the final orders in regards to the League's fate.

"Throw them back in their cells!" he shouted arrogantly. "Keep them apart, and this time-" he paused and stared at Batman spitefully, "Confine them properly." Without another word, the five were hauled off and directed back towards their cells. As they walked forward, the team, eyes directed forward in deep thought as they plotted their next move, marched down the hall in silence. As they arrived at the first cell, all was silent as Wonder Woman was pushed inside and made to face the wall as Giganta prepared her handcuffs against the wall in the far corner.

"Come on Princess," the villainess teased. "We're all ready for you!" At first Diana didn't reply as she remained still in the corner. "What, did Grodd's mutagen mess with your hearing?" Giagnta grumbled as she approached the warrior. "I said-" the gargantuan gal was cut short as she fell to the ground in response to a sudden blow to the face. Once she'd been taken down, Wonder Woman leapt over her foe and dashed out of the cell, where she found she was just in time to prevent Green Lantern from being led to his prison. Once she had helped him overpower his escort, they continued to liberate their friends until they were all able to make their way back the Legion's control room. Hurriedly they rushed down the halls, ignoring the crippling pains and dizziness that plagued them as Batman's suppressant began to wear off. Mere feet from the main control room, the booming sound of Lex's furious shouts rang through the halls.

"You morons let them escape again!?" he shouted, before monologuing to himself about how clear it was that he'd have to handle the matter on his own. Weakly staggering into the room, the League searched dizzily for their means of escape. Finally, Green Lantern pointed out the building's transport system and led the way to the machine. Ignoring the sounds of footsteps and shouts swiftly approaching, the group climbed on the transporter's floor while Batman punched in their coordinates- his hands, engulfed in thick black hair and his jagged, clawed nails, made the task difficult as he struggled to press the final few coordinates. As the sound of shouts and approaching footsteps rose, Batman finalized their destination and dragged himself to the transportation pad beside his friends. Just as the door blasted open, the team managed to activate the transporter and escape the Legion of Doom before they could be captured a second time. With a final flash of light and a low buzzing, the transporter carried its passengers- weakened and on their knees, as Grodd's mutagen finally took effect- to their new destination, leaving Lex Luthor and his minions to angrily gawk at their captives' escape.


End file.
